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Circular hot water bottle, 1930-1950

This hot-water bottle is made of rubber and, when filled with hot water, provides warmth and comfort for the user. This item was used at St Bernard’s Hospital in West London, once known as the Hanwell Lunatic Asylum.

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Glossary

Glossary:

Glossary: nursing

The study and practice of caring for and waiting on the sick, injured, or others unable to look after themselves or to deal with their specific medical needs.

Glossary: hot-water bottle

A container usually made of rubber, filled with hot water especially to warm a bed.Containers for warmth in bed were in use as early as the 16th century. The earliest versions contained hot coals from the dying embers of the fire, and these bed warmers were used to warm the bed before getting into it. Very soon after this, containers with hot water became used. Use of hot water bottles declined in the 20th century as homes became better heated, and recently due to the increase in use of electric blankets.

Glossary: asylum

A historic term for a psychiatric hospital. The term in this context was common in the 1700s and 1800s, but is no longer in use.